Fables Curtain · Carlson Fable Collection

Title

Fables Curtain

Description

1920? Heavy drape with Latin phrases including “lupus in fabula” and “lupus et agnus.” Backed. 4’4.5” wide; 4’1” high. Unknown source.

I have found several instances of this heavy material on the web. I will quote one of them since I know little about this material: “baroque style, neo-classical style golden fabric. High quality material. The Latin here is curious. I believe I acquired the drape because I noticed the two phrases above; perhaps I assumed that it was fable texts. It is rather a hodgepodge mostly constituted by frequently cited Latin aphorisms. Two of the easiest to recognize are Descartes’ “Cogito ergo sum” and "Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi." The latter is cited in a less known form that our common “Et tu, Brute.” The standard Latin for WL is “Ad rivum eundem lupus et agnus venerant, siti compulsi.” Other recognizable phrases here are “amicus magis necessarius quam ignis et aqua,” “Socratem iustissimum temperantissimumque omnium Graecorum antiqui existimaverunt,” and "Non faciunt meliorem equum aurei freni.”